Emilio Pizzi (1 February 1861 – 27 November 1940) was an Italian composer. His output of works include 10 operas, a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

, and numerous vocal and chamber works. Pizzi graduated from the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

in 1884 where he was a pupil of Antonio Bazzini and Amilcare Ponchielli and attended classes with

Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...

. Shortly after completing his education, he moved to London where he remained for almost 13 years. In 1885 his operetta ''Lina'' won the Bonetti Competition. In 1889 his first opera, ''

Guglielmo Ratcliff ''Guglielmo Ratcliff'' is a tragic opera in four acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, translated from the German play ''Wilhelm Ratcliff'' (1822) by Heinrich Heine. Mascagni had substantially finished the composition ...

'', won first prize at the Baruzzi Competition. His fourth opera, '' Gabriella'', was commissioned by

Adelina Patti Adelina Patti (19 February 184327 September 1919) was an Italian 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, and gave her la ...

and she portrayed the title role when the work premiered in Boston in 1893 at the Metropolitan Theatre with the composer in attendance. Pizzi returned to Italy in 1897 to succeed Antonio Cesaro as the

maestro di cappella (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

at the Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. He also taught at the Bergamo Conservatory. He returned to London in 1900 where he became a popular composer of vocal pieces. He died in Milan at the age of 79.

Operas

*''Lina'' (1885) *''Guglielmo Ratcliff'' (1889, Bologna) *''Editha'' (1890, Milan) *''Viviana'' (early 1890s, never performed) *''Gabriella'' (1893, Boston) *''The bric-a-brac-Will'' (1895, London) *''Ultimo canto'' (1896, Vienna) *''Rosalba'' (1899, Turin) *''La vendetta'' (1906, Cologne) *''Ivania'' (1926, Bergamo)

Sources

Operisti minori dell'800 italiano By Corrado Ambìveri

References

External links

*
William Ratcliff , opera romantica in un prologo e tre atti
1889 publication, Italian, digitized by

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

on archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzi, Emilio 1861 births 1940 deaths Academic staff of the Bergamo Conservatory Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Verona Milan Conservatory alumni